Belmont residents will have several decisions to make on the ballot for the Sept. 1 Democratic primary.
At the state level, Sen. William Brownsberger and Rep. Dave Rogers are being challenged by newcomers to elective politics, Daniel Lander and Nomita Ganguly, respectively. But they aren’t the only Massachusetts politicians being challenged for their seats this September.
Longtime U.S. Sen. Ed Markey is being challenged this election season by Rep. Seth Moulton, who has served the Massachusetts 6th District since 2015.
The 80-year-old Malden resident was first elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976. In 2013, Markey won a special election to serve in the U.S. Senate.
In an interview with five Greater Boston nonprofit news outlets, Markey made his case for reelection, outlining his views on affordability, health care, housing, immigration and more.
Housing Production, Affordability
Asked what policies he would focus on to increase housing production and affordability, Markey touted his partnership with Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.
“I think it’s ultimately going to pay big dividends,” he said. “I am her partner on these issues of housing affordability, and in addition, Sen. Warren has a bill for $500 billion, which would create 3.5 million new housing units across our country. The more construction that takes place, the lower the prices would be for the remainder of the housing stock.”
Zooming in on the local level, Markey said that under the MBTA Communities Act, which Belmont approved the zoning for last year, development is happening.
“It’s absolutely essential that all communities that benefit from the MBTA have to comply with the law,” he said. “We know we need more housing. Those communities… should have a responsibility to rezone to ensure that housing is being constructed.”
Markey called it “progress” despite resistance in some communities.
“The problem is not going to be solved just by Cambridge and Malden and Revere… It’s going to take all the other communities as well that have historically been resistant to new housing being permitted in their community,” he said. “That’s where the MBTA Communities Law comes in, and Elizabeth Warren’s housing bill comes in, which I support, and additional funding from the federal government would play a big role.”
Rising Health Care Costs
Both candidates are advocates for universal health care. However, unlike his opponent, who has argued for Medicare for All, plus options — an approach he believes will lower premiums across the board — Markey emphasized his support instead for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All.
“We know fundamentally the system is failing. … The costs are too high, access is too difficult for too many families, but we can see how the health industry, the insurance industry, makes it very difficult for every family,” Markey said.
Why no options?
“It’s not, from my perspective, the solution we need,” he said. “We have to change the system.”
In Belmont, town employees and retirees are seeing a 24% increase in health care costs. This fiscal year, town employees with Harvard Pilgrim will pay $322 per month for an individual plan and $873 per month for a family plan, based on a 75-25 split, in which the town pays 75% and the employees pay 25%. Those grandfathered into the former 80-20 split will pay $258 per month for an individual plan or $699 for a family plan.
The rates will be in effect at least until Jan. 1, 2027, when the town plans to join the state’s Group Insurance Commission to mitigate rising health care costs.
Free Transportation
Continuing the conversation on affordability, Markey has pushed for free public transportation.
“What we’re seeing in Merrimack Valley, what we’re seeing in Worcester, what we’re seeing around the commonwealth is when fair, free transit is put into place, it dramatically increases ridership,” he said. “It increases economic activity. It also reduces greenhouse gases because people get out of their cars and they start to take public transit.”
He said it fits into a strategy of cleaner communities, but also accessibility for blue-collar families, and Greater Boston should be first in providing that kind of opportunity for people.
“We’ve done all of the preliminary work,” he said, “and Congresswoman [Ayanna] Pressley and I are committed to building the alliances that are ultimately going to provide the funding, which then makes it possible for regional transit authorities, including the MBTA but all across the commonwealth, to be able to provide fair, free transit.”
Editor’s Note: The Voice’s story with Markey’s challenger, Seth Moulton, which is linked here, ran in the July 24 edition.